Peorian gets 36 years for shooting man in the arm

Friday

Jan 3, 2014 at 9:53 PM

Andy Kravetz of the Journal Star

PEORIA — A Peoria man was sentenced Friday to 36 years in prison for shooting a man in the arm more than five years ago.

Yet, while Laversus A. Mabry, 37, was disappointed, the sentence was 12 years less than a 48-year term handed down after he was initially convicted of the August 2008 shooting of Julius Ashford. The conviction and the sentence were tossed out by the appellate court in December 2011.

Mabry, who acted as his own attorney for the sentencing, told Chief Judge Steve Kouri that he is a changed man after about five years in custody. He told the judge he has spent the time reading and learning and now wants to help other inmates. He acknowledged his past criminal history, which included a similar conviction for shooting someone, but told Kouri he was different from his younger self.

The judge, however, said he agreed with prosecutor David Gast that Mabry was dangerous and also that, given his record and the offense — aggravated battery with a firearm — a "heavy sentence" was needed.

Ashford was staying at his girlfriend's house on Aug. 21, 2008, when he noticed two people by his car about 8 a.m. He went downstairs, and the men ran around the back of the house. He testified he opened the back door and a masked man grinned at him and fired two shots, striking him in the arm.

The other man was never arrested. Ashford picked Mabry out of a lineup, according to court records.

Gast pushed for a stiff sentence, saying Mabry was a dangerous man whose criminal past went back 20 years to when he was a juvenile. The prosecutor also rejected statements by Mabry that a shorter sentence was necessary as his children were living without a father. Gast asked where Mabry's concern about children was when he shot Ashford, who is also a father.

It was Mabry's third trial, as a jury deadlocked in May 2009 before he was convicted in August 2009.

The appellate court threw out the conviction because it held the judge in 2009 should have declared a second mistrial when a defense witness testified about a second shooting involving Ashford. The court held the testimony was irrelevant to the case being tried and could have tipped the scales against Mabry.

Andy Kravetz can be reached at 686-3283 or akravetz@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @andykravetz.